Islamabad:
The upper house legislators on Tuesday called for more relief to the ordinary man and emphasized the need to meet rising poverty, national debt, agricultural falls and institutional inefficiencies while confirming their support to national defense and unity in light of regional challenges.
While participating in the general discussion of the budget 2025-26, Senator Kamran Murtaza said that during any budget exercise two types of approaches-one focused on ideological vision and the other aimed at immediate public relief.
He emphasized that the biggest challenge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan remains the law and order situation that requires concrete and sustained measures.
“We are united with our armed forces and remain loyal to the country,” he said.
When he highlights socio -economic concerns, Senator Murtaza said almost half of the population faces extreme poverty and lacks access to important things such as food and medicine.
He emphasized the need to tackle the overpopulation wisely and urged to strengthen youth through technical education and skills development.
He criticized the budget with reference to a decrease in crop yields and the deteriorating state of agriculture. “Farmers are fighting and taxes are charged on those who are already burdened,” he noted. He urged the government to review its policies and give greater relief to the underprivileged.
Senator Saadia Abbasi also expressed reservations about the federal budget and said the country is facing a number of challenges, including trade balances, climate change in agriculture, inadequate infrastructure reforms, incorrectly administered debt and stagnant industrial growth.
Meanwhile, the debate on Pakistan’s proposed budget for the coming financial year in the National Assembly intensified on Tuesday as tensions flared between PPP and MQM members.
PPPS Shazia Marri, in her address, called the critical government’s failure to advertise minimum wages for workers and called for a fair increase in government employees’ salary.
Her speech took an unexpected reversal when a heated exchange broke out between the PPP and MQM members, where they escalated tensions in the assembly.
When Shazia emphasized the importance of Karachi remaining an integral part of Sindh, MQM’s Asiya Ishaq approached PPP members, which led to an intervention from Aseefa Bhutto, Sahar Kamran and others.
This led to a tense exchange of hard words between both parties. Javed Hanif noted, “In humans have left Karachi, and now you threaten us.”
